Animal Crackers
by Lime'wire
Summary: Shigure looked out into the woods from the porch, sighing as he saw Yuki walk after Rei. Peering up at the sky, he shook his head. “It’s getting dark fast Yuki…you better find her soon before they do…” he said softly to himself before walking back inside.
1. School Days

_Welp, this is my first actual fan fiction. Just so no one randomly decides to say that I stole Natsuki Takaya's characters, I do not own any of the registered and published Fruits Basket characters. Yada Yada, I'm pretty sure you guys know the whole story. Soooo….enjoy_

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"But Kyoooo-kuuun" _Whack_! Again, a book went flying in her direction, leaving, yet another, lump on her head. "Owwww" Mina complained, clutching her head. "I told you no!!" Kyo shouted, clinching his fist and shaking it in anger. 'But Kyooo-kuuun" Mina whined.

Just as Kyo was reaching for another book to throw at Mina, the door to the classroom flung open. "Leave thy fair maiden alone, you retched beast!" A Shakespeare-like voice boomed. This was Sanosuke, the school's theater geek. Kyo growled his cat like growl and threw the book at Sanosuke, attempting to hit him.

"Aha. On guard" Sano said as he dodged the book in the utmost graceful movement. "Oi vie" came a calm voice, a gentle-natured Yuki standing in the door. A group of fan girls passed behind him on their way to class. Just hearing them giggle made Yuki shudder and groan in annoyance.

"Oh! Yuki-sama's here!!!" Another group of fan girls screamed from the classroom across the hall. "Quick my Prince, inside!!" Sano said, pulling Yuki into the room and taping a few o-fuda, or sacred seals on the outside frame of the door. "Back I say, back!" he shouted dramatically, slamming the door shut. "Are those the Drama club's enchantment seals?" Yuki asked, pointing to the stack of fake a-fuda. He knew that Sanosuke would be in trouble with the Drama club if they find out.

"Rei-san's here!" chimed a childish voice, almost like that of a little kid's. Momiji was sitting near the window with Rini, his _crush._ "Really?" Yuki said quickly, rushing towards the window to see the girl Momiji had mentioned. "She…just walked into the school, Yuki" Rini peeped, looking up at the purple eyed Yuki, seeing a soft blush creep across his cheeks. Noting that everyone was looking at him, Yuki stood up and walked away from the window, regaining him composure. Acting as if nothing had happened, Yuki went to the board and began drawing with a piece of white chalk that had been left out from the teachers' meeting earlier that morning. As if on cue, everyone rolled their eyes.

It was apparent that there were couples this school year, but not every one was happy with them. Mina and Kyo had something going on, though Kyo's tough exterior made if a bit difficult for Mina to get close to him. Momiji and Rini were younger than the rest of the group and were declared a couple after a game of Truth or Dare during the summer at the Sohma's house. The thing that got most of the girls at school jealous was that their "Prince Charming" Yuki was already head over heels for Rei, and Rei felt the same way. Most of the Sohma couples happened over the summer, but Yuki's and Rei's immediately wasn't kept secret long. Not even a day after they declared themselves a couple, half the girls at school found out. How? No one's sure, but they have their suspicions.

"Fan girls again, ey Sano-kun?" A gentle voice chimed into the room. Rei was holding one of Sanosuke's sacred o-fuda scrolls in her hand, playfulness dancing across her face. Sanosuke nodded and bowed. "Of course, Milady" came his reply as he took Rei's hand and pressed it to his lips, causing a deep pink blush to make its way across her cheeks. Spotting Yuki from the corner of her eye, she smiled and pulled her hand back. "I have to protect the Prince from those man-eating witches" Sano said as Rei rolled her eyes and walked to her seat to set her bag down.

"Good morning everyone" she said, grinning in delight as she spotted Kyo pulling Mina into his lap and cuddling her. The Sohma curse didn't apply to Mina, Rini or Rei. They were under it too, but far from being related to Momiji, Yuki or the rest of the Sohma men.

"Good morning Rei-san" came the reply from everyone, as they were going back to their business and conversations. Sanosuke was busy trying to get his seals off the door frame, without tearing them, in order to put them back in the Prop room before the Drama club found out. Momiji and Rini were feeding and watering their class's pet rabbit, and Kyo and Mina were still arguing about whether or not she was going out on Friday. Walking over to the blackboard, Rei sighed. '_Kyo…'_ She thought, grabbing an eraser and erasing the crude drawings of Yuki and their teacher.

"Good morning…Rei-san" Yuki said as he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Oh…Good morning Yuki" Rei smiled and put the eraser down. Turning around to face Yuki, she wrapped her arms around his neck, blushing softly as he held her tighter. It was strange. Mina, Kyo, Rei and Yuki blushed around each other, acting like little kids. Yet it was Momiji and Rini who were the most mature (and the youngest) out of the group, making every one else look horribly bad.

"Yoshimaru-sensei!" Rini shouted, causing every one scatter and get ready for the day. "Sano-kun, you better hurry" Momiji commented at Sanosuke's slow progress at cleaning off the seals from the door. "You don't have that long before the Drama club finds out" Rini added onto Momiji's comment as the two rushed out of the room and towards their own class room. 3…2…1. _Brrrrrring. _The bell had rang and the school day had started.

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_Please R&R. No flamers, but constructive criticism equals mucho love _


	2. Unknown Solider

Yay…Chapter II ish finished. Not sure where I was going with this, but I hope to figure out something soon…Enjoy

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_Tap…tap…tap_. Mina sat in Math—her favorite only because it was the last class of the day--tapping the end of her pencil on the desk. _'Come on…ring already. I want to go home," _she complained in her mind, her eyes focused on the clock. Rei glanced at Mina from the corner of her eyes, looking up from the class work they were supposed to be doing. "You okay?" she whispered softly to Mina, not getting a response. "Mina?" She whispered a bit louder, glancing back at the teacher—who was reading the newspaper—then back at Mina. Glaring softly, Rei crumpled up a sheet of paper and tossed it at Mina, quickly going back to her work as the teacher looked up from the paper.

"Mina…" The teacher said, cocking an eyebrow and glanced at Mina's unopened book and closed notebook. "Yes'sum?" Mina replied out of habit, standing up and looking up at the teacher. When she realized what she had said, she looked down, shaking her head in embarrassment. A few snickers washed throughout the room, Rei rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Work" Came the sharp reply for the teacher, motioning for Mina to sit back down and work. Obediently, Mina nodded and sat down, opening both her books and getting to work. Rei closed her books and took out a romance novel she had been reading, jotting down ideas for a story on a random piece of notebook paper.

As the bell rang, everyone packed up and stood up, pushing their chairs in. Waiting patiently to be dismissed, Mina scrambled to get her things together. As usual, she was the last out of the classroom, with Rei following close behind. Both girls traveled down the stairs and towards their lockers, only to find Yuki and Kyo waiting for them. "Where're Momiji and Rini?" Rei asked, unlocking her locker to get her outside shoes on and place a few books on the shelf above her shoes. "They said they were going to go and get something to eat, or whatever. Ah, I don't know" Kyo groaned, watching as Mina fumbled with her lock, trying to get it open. "I'm getting hungry. Sigure didn't get up and make us some bentos like he usually does. You guys want to go and grab a snack?" Yuki offered, helping Rei to her feet after she finished putting on her shoes.

Leaning against the locker, Kyo sighed in frustration and pushed Mina back, only enough to get her out of the way. "You take forever" he complained and unlocked Mina's locker. Laughing nervously, Mina put her books up and changed shoes quickly. Yuki and Rei were already waiting outside, Yuki trying to fend off a few fan girls, Rei seeming to grow extremely agitated. Escorting Mina outside, Kyo had his left hand resting on Mina's left hip, her long blonde hair gently sweeping his arm.

As Kyo and Mina approached, they saw Rei's trademark anger position. Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot impatiently. Everyone knew when she was mad, and Yuki's fan club noticed. Not wanting to anger her even more, the girls said their goodbyes and hurried away. Yuki sighed in relief watching the group disappear behind the school. Turning back to look at Rei, his face dropped completely. Rei was pouting, on purpose of course. She had her lips pushed out; her arms crossed and gave Yuki the look that got her whatever she wanted. All she wanted right now was to feel like Yuki wasn't interested in his fan club. Rolling his eyes, Kyo pushed Mina along, hearing her giggle as she watched Yuki try and figure out what to do.

Yuki grinned and wrapped his arms around Rei's waist, lifting her up. He softly kissed her, and set her down, pulling her into a tight hug. "Aww…" Mina smiled and glanced back at Kyo, nudging him to look at Yuki and Rei. Smirking softly, Kyo wrapped Mina in a hug and kissed her softly, laughing as he felt her squirm against his chest. Mina liked it when Kyo surprised her like this, but he could at least have given her a warning. Mina pushed away from Kyo softly and ran over to Rei, pulling her out of Yuki's arms. Linking her left arm with Rei's right, they began walking ahead, leaving Yuki and Kyo behind.

Both boys chuckled softly to themselves, looking at each other than looking away quickly. "Heeeey Kyoooo-chaaaan! Yuuuukiii-saaaan!" Sanosuke said, trying to adjust his shoe while running towards the two. Wrapping one arm around Yuki's neck and the other around Kyo's, he went limp, letting the two Sohma's try and keep themselves from falling under his dead weight. "Ugh! What the hell Sano?!" Kyo shouted and dropped Sanosuke's arm, letting Yuki carry around the weight. Yuki rolled his eyes and moved away from Sano, chuckling as he saw the boy try and catch himself. Succeeding, Sanosuke shot a glare at Yuki and Kyo, and then smirked. Taking off in Rei and Mina's direction, Yuki and Kyo knew what he was going to do. They shot a glance at each other then took off running after Sano.

"Get off of me!" Rei screamed, pushing away from a man dressed in all black, a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes. Mina struggled against the hold of a broader man in a dark suit, locks of dark brown hair falling over his eyes. "Kyooo-kuuun!!!" she shouted, seeing Sano's shadow get closer with Kyo and Yuki behind him. Rei struggled even more, elbowing the man in the center of his chest. Feeling his grip loosen as he gasped for a bit of air, she did it again, only harder. Thrusting her elbow into the man's chest, she stumbled out of his grip, nearly tripping over her own feet.

Glancing up at Mina, Rei ran towards her. "Mina, duck as best as you can!!" she shouted, grabbing a rock off the sidewalk and throwing it at the man. The rock hit him smack in the middle of the forehead, a small bruise beginning to appear. His grip was loosened and Mina pushed away. Sano was getting closer, his, Yuki's and Kyo's speed increasing as they heard the girls' screams.

"Mina!!" Kyo shouted as Mina ran toward him, throwing her arms around his waist. Kyo growled and held Mina to him, trying to soothe her shuddering body. Yuki ran over to Rei, wrapping his arms around her. "Are you alright?" He asked, knowing that Rei was fine. She nodded. Sano glanced back at the two couples to check if they were alright. Letting out a short sigh of relief, he turned his attention back towards the men. They were gone.

Rei looked at Mina, and back at Yuki, wrapping her arms around his waist. The five of them just stood there in silence. The shuddering of both girls' breaths seemed to be the only sound made between the group.

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	3. Sotto Mezameru

_Chapter Three is finished. The delay for Fanfiction really helps…enjoy_

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When Yuki, Kyo, Mina and Rei said their goodbyes to Sanosuke and got to the Sohma's house after school, the two girls changed clothes into something more casual rather than their school uniforms. Rei had put on a pair of black sweat pants—the top rolled down over her hips—and a white tank top with a longer lime green tank top under that. Mina did somewhat of the same thing, except she wore a denim skirt with a long orange tank top under her white one. Shigure had called the group to the dinning room to talk, allowing him to put off yet another due date for his novel.

"You guys were attacked?!" He spat out, knocking over his cup of sake. The liquid crept its way across the table as Mina nodded, shifting her position on the floor cushion. Kyo sat next to her, his arms and legs crossed. "If I wasn't held back I woulda been able to protect you two" He commented, letting out a soft snarl as he laid back on the floor. Yuki sighed and got up, walking into the kitchen. Hearing the shoji screen slide open, Rei looked up at Yuki, seeing only his backside before he disappeared.

"The weird thing is…neither Rei nor I transformed…" Mina said, looking over at Rei before turning her attention back to Shigure. Kyo closed his eyes and bent his left knee, resting his right ankle on his kneecap. With his arms behind his head, Kyo began turning his ankle, hearing a few pops, then silence. Shigure stayed quiet, pondering on the situation. "Excuse me…" Rei said politely as she stood up, bowed to the group and slid the shoji screen open, only to disappear behind it.

"Shigure-sama!!" two voices called out in sync. Momiji and Rini opened the screen behind Kyo, poking their heads in. Shigure gave both Mina and Kyo a look that told them not to mention anything to the two kids. "Hello there!" Shigure said cheerfully, smiling as the two kids walked into the room. "Where are Yuki and Rei?" Momiji asked, looking around the room, only to see Shigure sitting with a new stick of pocky in his mouth and Mina and Kyo sitting on the other side of the table.

"Yu-yuki-kun?" Rei asked, peering into the kitchen. She found Yuki searching through cabinets in search of something to eat. He didn't acknowledge her. "Yuki-san?" She called again, and felt something crawl up her leg, heading for her shoulder. Hearing a few familiar squeaks, a mouse popped over her shoulder, gently nuzzling her neck. Rei smiled softly and rubbed the mouse's head with her finger, turning her attention back to Yuki, "Yuki!" "What is it, damn it?" came Yuki's sharp reply, agitation lingering with his tone. This caught Rei off guard, her blue eyes widening softly in fear. Even the little mouse had hidden himself in a lock of Rei's long black hair.

Shaking her head, Rei headed out of the kitchen without even a second look at Yuki. It wasn't that she was mad at him or anything; it was just that she didn't feel like getting on his nerves. Heading down the hall, Rei quietly slide open the front door, sliding on a pair of black flip-flops and headed outside. The mouse stayed on her shoulder, seeming to talk to her with his quiet squeaks.

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Rei said softly as she headed into the woods, walking towards a trail that she took to get away from the Sohma house. The wind was playing with her hair, strands of the black silk gently dancing behind her. Her blue eyes were focused on the sky, her pupils dilating with the change of light, getting bigger and smaller as the clouds passed over the sun. _'Yuki-kun…' _She thought to herself, coming upon a path that split into two directions. One way headed towards town, going the back route, and the other headed toward the mountains. Of course, she followed the path that headed towards town.

"Where's Rei-chan?" Mina asked as she peered her head into the kitchen, looking at Yuki. Yuki shrugged and glanced at Kyo as he pushed Mina into the room gently and leaned against the wall. "What'd you do this time?" Kyo asked, sneering in disgust. Mina looked at Kyo and softly smacked him in the chest, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. Yuki rolled his eyes and walked outside with an onigiri in his hand. Taking a small out of it, a few grains of rice stuck to the outside of his mouth. Wiping it away from his hand, Yuki disappeared into the forest, following the same path as Rei.

Kyo groaned and rolled his eyes, going over to the refrigerator to get something to eat. "You hungry, Mina?" Kyo asked while taking a bite of an apple. Mina nodded and walked over to Kyo, placing her hand on his back and bending down beside him. Gently pushing his hip with hers, Mina giggled and softly pecked his cheek, taking the apple out of his hand. "I'm in the mood for an apple" She joked and took a bite. Kyo blinked and smiled, closing the fridge.

Shigure looked outside from the porch, sighing as he saw Yuki walk after Rei. Peering up at the sky, he shook his head. "It's getting dark fast Yuki…you better find her soon before they do…" He said softly to himself before walking back inside and closing the shoji screen behind him.

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